Karnataka HC clears return of Russian woman, children found living in Gokarna cave

Justice BM Shyam Prasad issued order after court was informed that Russian authorities had granted emergency travel documents for the children, including five-year-old Ama, who was born in India

Bengaluru: The Karnataka high court has permitted the union government to issue travel documents for a Russian woman and her two daughters, who were found living in a cave in the forests of Gokarna in Uttara Kannada district in July, allowing them to return to Russia.

The proceedings followed a petition filed by Israeli national Dror Shlomo Goldstein, the former husband of Nina Kutina and father of the children.

Justice BM Shyam Prasad issued the order after the court was informed that Russian authorities had granted emergency travel documents for the children, including five-year-old Ama, who was born in India.

Additional solicitor-general of India K. Arvind Kamath told the court that a DNA report confirming Ama’s parentage had been shared with Moscow, which subsequently granted her citizenship and issued short-term travel documents.

The proceedings followed a petition filed by Israeli national Dror Shlomo Goldstein, the former husband of Nina Kutina and father of the children. He sought to prevent the centre from immediately sending the minors to Russia, arguing that the court must consider their welfare. His counsel, Beena PK, invoked the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and submitted that Goldstein had long been responsible for the children’s care.

The bench, however, pointed to the unusual circumstances in which the family had been found. “It is undisputed that just three were in the cave in an isolated environment without any facilities,” the court observed, according to LiveLaw. It added that once the authorities located the family, steps for rehabilitation followed naturally.

In its order, the court emphasised that the question of the children’s best interests had to be considered within the broader context. “This court must opine that it would only be just and reasonable to examine the children’s best interest in the backdrop of this,” it said, noting that the mother herself had sought repatriation.

Responding to the petitioner’s plea, the Centre clarified its position. “It would be open to the Union to deport any person who has overstayed, but in the present case the sending back of mother and children cannot be termed as deportation, as it would only amount to recognizing the interest of the mother in travel back to the place of her country with her children,” the ASG submitted.

The bench said that all disclosures had been shared with Russian authorities, who had responded promptly with documentation for their citizens’ return. “If these two circumstances are compelling for this court to conclude that this would be in the best interest of the children, the other circumstance which is also significant is the imploration by the mother herself to travel back to Russia with the children,” the court observed.